John Andrew Pfaffenberger
(J.A.), the third child of Andrew and Catharine Pfaffenberger, was born
in Bavaria in 1829.93 At the age of eight, he migrated to the
U. S. with his family and temporarily settled in Pennsylvania. In 1842,
he migrated with his family to Jackson County, Indiana, and settled on a
farm his father purchased. Little is known about his early years;
however, one could assume that he worked on his father’s farm until the
1846 to 1848 time period. During this period John Andrew likely moved
into the home of Gilbert B. Durland, a Brownstown Saddler, to learn the
leathercraft trades.

In
1850, J.A. was living with the Durland Family and listed his trade as a
shoemaker.He continued to
practice his trade and save his money.On January 2, 1854, he purchased part of lot 37, in the town of
Brownstown from Mr. & Mrs. C. A. Tiench for $111.10.37The next year on April 19, he purchased the remainder of this lot
from John H. Butler for $70.39

Two
months after securing lot 37 (June 21, 1855), J.A. married Phoebe B.
Vermilya, a 25-year-old lady, from a prominent family of both Hamilton
and Brownstown Townships.13 It is probable that J.A and
Phoebe met at church.J.A.
may well have been raised in the M.E. Church.Phoebe "was converted in very early life.She connected herself with the Methodist Episcopal Church when
but a girl and remained a consistent member of the same."13
In 1856, their first child, Evaline (Eva) was born.

J.A.
was obviously was a good steward of his money.By 1859, he had saved at least $125 which enabled him to purchase
80 acres along the road that is now S.R. 58, 1 mile east of Norman
Station from Lewis and Catharine Ginter.43 Because of the 14
mile distance between Brownstown and the Norman Station property and the
fact J. A. never left Brownstown indicates that this was investment
property, rather than a move to step into farming.In 1860, he purchased another 40 acres near Acme from Mr. & Mrs.
J. G. Reed for $200 (Darker shaded area on map.).43 This
parcel was located adjacent to property owned by Phoebe's relatives
William B. and Robert W. Vermilya.

The
1860 U.S. Census reached the Pfaffenberger household on June 2.In addition to J.A., Phoebe and Evaline, a 10 year old girl named
Caroline Dryer and a 30 year old Junior Shoemaker, Martin Hagandorff
also lived at J.A.'s address.93 Later in the year, Phoebe
gave birth to their first son Theodore.

Although
it is unknown when he acquired them, J.A. sold lots 151 and 152,
Brownstown, from Godferd and Christina Rhendy for $1,000.45

The "official records" provide a
glimpse into J.A.'s spiritual life.On October 18, 1861, he was one of the Trustees of the Brownstown
Methodist Episcopal Church when the church purchased one half of lot 39,
Brownstown.95

During
the Civil War years, J.A. and Phoebe continued to have children.Their second son, Wright, was born in 1863 and their second
daughter Viola, was born in 1865.94

Shortly
after the Civil War ended in 1865, J.A. continued his investment in farm
property in the Acme-Surprise area.This 160-acre farm may have been Phoebe's Hamilton Township home.The owners may well have been two brothers and a sister and her
sister's husband.On August
5, 1865, J.A. purchased William B. and Robert W. Vermilya's share of the
property and the next summer on June 7, he purchased the William and
Agnes B. Ireland's share of this property.(Lightly shaded area on map.)J.A. paid the three joint owners $200 each for this parcel.13,
49, 80

Two
months before his death, J.A. made an interesting property transaction.On March 4, 1867, he purchased lots 31 and 32, Brownstown, from
Holmes W. Chadwick for $700 and on March 5, he purchased the south part
lot 48, Brownstown, from Walter Benton for $2,000.Finally on March 5, he sold lots 31 and 32 to Walter Benton for
$750.49

J.A.
appeared to live a vital life up to his sudden death on May 14, 1867.13
At the time of his death, Phoebe was pregnant with their daughter
Luella, who was born on December 16, 1867.94, 100(In accounting for their children, J.A. and Phoebe had one child
that did not survive, however, the year of birth is unknown.) 13

With
Phoebe's consent, John Pfaffenberger became the administrator of J.A.'s
estate eleven days after J.A.'s death (May 25).The court record shows that John filed a $3,000 bond with the
court and named George Pfaffenberger and William F. Borcherding as his
sureties.50

On
January 16, 1870, Phoebe married John Allen, a 62-year-old Brownstown
grocer.13

In October
of the following year, John Pfaffenberger sold the 200 acres in the
Acme-Surprise area Grafton Manull for $1,000.96

At
the time of J.A.'s death, the court appointed Wilson S. Swengel, a
lawyer, as guardian of the minor Pfaffenberger children.On January 27, 1872, the court appointed Phoebe's brother Wright
Vermilya to replace Swengel as guardian.97

On
September 9, 1875, John Pfaffenberger sold the final parcels of real
estate that J.A. and Phoebe had accumulated.Two small pieces of lot 48, Brownstown, went to Charles W.
Durland and jointly to Joseph A. Stillwell and John B. Burrell for
$108.33 and $108.00 respectively.96, 98

Although
John Allen was Phoebe’s senior by 31 years, they had four children
together, three of whom survived to adulthood.The surviving Allen children were John, Joseph and Stella.13

The
Pfaffenberger children grew up in the home of John and Phoebe.Eva left home first when she married Charles J. McCreary on
October 26, 1879.By the
summer of 1880, both boys and Luella were living elsewhere.Theodore, then 18, was living near his uncle, Wright Vermilya,
where he was working as a clerk in his uncle's dry goods store.Wright (Pfaffenberger), then 17 was living with his uncle George
Pfaffenberger and working on the farm.Luella, was living with Eva and Charles in Vernon Township of
Jackson County.85, 99, 136

In
1883, on November 12, Wright sold the Norman Station farm property to
Leonard Hibner for $120, $5 less that J.A. had paid for it in 1859.101

Theodore
married Amelia Borcherding, oldest daughter of William F. and Caroline
Borcherding and step granddaughter of his uncle George Pfaffenberger, on
February 24, 1884.The next
year, on March 22, Viola married William J. Robertson.86
Wright married Florence Wray, daughter of Oregan and Susannah Wray of
Clearspring, on August 1, 1889.88 Eva, apparently lost her
first husband and married Frank Beltz in 1891.13, 164 Luella
never married and died on June 5, 1902, at the age of 34 years, 6 months
and 20 days.100

In
1886, Theodore and Amelia, along with Amelia's sister and brother, Alice
and George Borcherding, sold the remaining 40 acres of Amelia's parents
estate to Theodore's uncle and Amelia's step grandfather George
Pfaffenberger.102

On
January 12, 1887, Phoebe's husband, John Allen died.Phoebe lived until April 2, 1904.In her last 17 years, she had become known in Brownstown as "Aunt
Phoebe."She was known for
concern and care for the sick, dying and bereaved.13

Eva
and Frank Beltz produced three children:Geneva M. Beltz, May 18, 1894, Arthur A. Beltz, 1897, and Gladys
E. Beltz, May 1899.On
February 23, 1916 Geneva was married to Theodore Groener in
Indianapolis. 166Eva
was again widowed by 1920.
Eva and Frank lived in Indianapolis on North California Street.The 1920 Census found Eva, Arthur and Gladys living on East
Eleventh Street near the intersection of Cornell Avenue.

Wright
and Florence had two children, Flora, born in 1890, and Guy, born
October 29, 1892.Florence
died on July 25, 1898 after a six-month illness.At the time of her death the family was affiliated with the
Brownstown M. E. Church.103Although
Wright’s circumstances are not clear, Flora and Guy were taken in by
their mother’s sister and her husband.The children lived with Bartholomew and Flora Dodds in Owen
Township of Jackson County, Indiana until they were on their own.160, 161

Flora
Married Thomas R. Johnston on May 18, 1915 and Guy married Cora Ethyl
Wray May 1, 1920.109, 110Flora and Thomas had three children, William born in 1918,
Mary born in 1920 and David born in 1928.Guy and Cora had a family of five; Roy (1921), Forrest (1923),
Dale (1925), Carolyn (1930) and Gerald Joseph. 162, 163

Theodore
and Amelia lived in Brownstown, Elwood and Indianapolis.They produced six children; Minnie, Alice, Edith, Inez, Marie and
William Everett.Minnie and
Inez died in infancy.
William Everett, born in Elwood on May 15, 1903, died at the age of 19
years and 10 months on March 14, 1923, having never married. Alice, born
February 28, 1886 in Brownstown, married John Monagle, had two children,
John Monagle, Jr. and Lois Monagle.She at the end of her life she resided in Alberta, British
Columbia, Canada.Edith,
born June 14, 1888, married her college sweetheart, Dr. William Carleton
Moore, a Muncie surgeon, on August 20, 1917.Their two children were Nancy Ann Moore and Thomas Carleton
Moore.Nancy became a
professor of sociology at Ohio State University and Thomas followed in
his father’s footsteps and became a medical doctor.Both Nancy and Thomas produced five children each.
Marie was also married in 1917
on September 10th to Jesse M. Baker.They had one daughter, Alice Jane, born in March 1918.
13,105, 106, 107, 108, 149, 159

Although
John Andrew only lived 38 years, his industry was able to sustain his
family several years after his death.His descendants have lived distinguished lives in fields ranging
from agriculture to medicine.